Question

the statistical analysis of insect counts based on the negative binomial distribution

Answer 1

The Poisson distribution is obtained as the limit as k-> o At the other end of the scale, as k-> 0, we approach the logarithmic series [6]. If we have'several sets of counts on the same species of insect, from different districts or after different treatments, we may find that the mean m varies between the sets, but k remains approximately the same. To analyse such data statistically, we need to obtain a pooled estimate of k from all sets of counts and estimate the mean m separately for each set